THE newly appointed minister of state for housing and urban development, Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, has pledged to prioritise the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s 2027 victory in Kano.
In 2023, the Nigerian government put the country’s housing deficit statistics at 28 million units with an estimated funding need of N21 trillion.
Ata, however, says his interest is the politics of his home state of Kano.
“My appointment was mainly for political reasons. APC has lost Kano State, and now it will take Kano State. The main problem is the Kano Central and I am from there.
“Even as a minister, I will continue to sit in this Ward; we are going to work very hard to see that APC gains control of Kano State by 2027.
“My mission, as I said, is purely political; even though I am posted to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, I will do my work, but I will be coming to Kano State every week so as to work towards gaining control of the state,” he told journalists.
Eighteen-Eleven Media reports that Yusuf Abdullahi Ata’s immediate predecessor, Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo, had last week claimed that President Bola Tinubu cited overloaded political appointments in Kano North and the need to strike a balance as the reasons for the termination of his appointment.
Speaking with BBC Hausa about his dismissal from Tinubu’s cabinet, he said: “I was surprised because I wasn’t found guilty of any wrongdoing or poor performance. And I was a minister of state with the senior minister who handles a large chunk of the ministry’s activities.
“Before the announcement, the President had put me on notice of his decision.
“He said Kano North was overloaded with political officers, hence the need to strike a balance. We gave our advice, but it was ignored.
“From there, I began to suspect that some people were behind this because, for me, that wasn’t a valid reason.
“If it’s true that the ministerial slot will be allocated to Kano Central, we have our 2023 gubernatorial candidate, who is also our leader in Kano Central. Why not consider giving him the slot?”
“Gawuna should be offered the position first, unless he declines, in which case it could be given to someone else.
“All his other colleagues who contested in other states were given positions, such as the candidates from Plateau and Zamfara states”.
•Additional report courtesy of PoliticsNigeria
Eighteen-Eleven Media